Market love: the (April 2012) market

Ooh, I'm tickled pink by your joyful responses to my last post about our garden. I had no idea it would evoke such interest - thankyou. I promise to keep you in the loop about our gardening caper! Tonight I'm finally posting about Hobart's fabulous 'the market' I saw way back in April 2012. I was enchanted by what I saw and couldn't wait to share it with you. But then my carpal tunnel syndrome set in and typing hurt. Now my hand's recovered, let's finally get this review on the road! I'm featuring three of my favourite artisans there.

Tara Badcock

Here's Tara, stitching away at one of her beauties

I was delighted to finally meet Tara Badcock after years of hearing about her. She's an extremely talented Tasmanian textile artist and designer who has also worked in Paris. Her burgeoning international reputation has seen her work appear in store launches at Anthropologie in New York and at recent exhibitions in Norway, Sweden, Sydney and Melbourne.

She is divinely gifted, I think. Let's have a look at her handiwork.

Just look at this stunning silk rosette. All hand stitched. Truly.

And here's a version for you monochromatic fans.

Look at this elegance! Doesn't it transport you to another age?

All that hand embroidering! *Sigh*. Be still, my Francophile-beating heart.

I adore this stunning cushion. That handwriting looks so much like my Nanny's. Time to hunt out her old recipes, I think!

And just to finish, look at this amazing silk rosette she was working on. *Sigh*.

You can see more of Tara's wondrous handiwork at her Flickr page here. You'll be enchanted, I promise! She's also on Facebook here.

The Snow Queen's Garden

I was also chuffed to meet the gorgeous Natasha Lang of The Snow Queen's Garden after being tipped off by my good friend, Sarah. She's been creating exquisite handcrafted and Russian-inspired felt Matryoshka dolls, creatures and Christmas decorations since 2005. A softly spoken and gentle woman, she was too coy to let me take her photo. But I took plenty of her goodies!

Here's one of her renowned Matryoshka dolls. Isn't she stunning? The details are just extraordinary. As Natasha says on her Etsy page, all her works are '100% hand cut and hand embroidered. 100% one of a kind'. Indeed.

Here's another beautiful little lady, replete with a sweet birdy. 

I adore these cute little critters - pin cushions, I think.

Here's a close-up of the one with his tiny toadstool. Couldn't you just take him home?

This is the chap I did take home - Mr Easter Bunny himself. Will you just look at that intricate detail, pocket kerchief and all? Divine, I say.

And here's his rear, cute fluffy tail a-wagging.

You can find Natasha's Etsy shop here. She is on Facebook here (do say hello from me!) and blogs occasionally here.

Sea Soul Studio

I was captivated by the delicate ceramic jewellery and dishes made by the fabulous Sarah Woodward of Sea Soul Studio. My camera battery was flat by this stage so Sarah graciously agreed to let me use some photos from her Facebook page of what I saw.

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The stunning simplicity of this pendant crafted from Southern Ice porcelain is just splendid. 

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Aren't these earrings so dainty?

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This little fellow nearly made it home to Planet Baby. Next time...

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And to finish, no prizes for guessing why this dishful of flutterers took my fancy!

You can find Sarah over at Facebook here. You can see plenty more of her work in her photo albums there as well as contact her with any enquiries if you spot something you fancy.

So, there you have it - I trust it was worth the wait! Do any of you think you'd have the patience of Tara and Natasha with that very fine needlework? They both informed me that's why they wear glasses as they sit up at night when their children are asleep, stitching away in dim light! Do share which ones caught your eye. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

PS I've decided to write my 'Down the rabbithole' posts once a month, instead of weekly. They take a while to write and I've found it a bit stressful trying to pump one out a week. I'll write them on the first Wednesday of the month. I hope you understand!

Your burning question: Why did you go to Tasmania?

Happy weekend, everyone! It can't arrive too soon for me after a particularly *testing* day with the pixies. I am almost catatonic! Mr PB has promised to take them out for the day tomorrow so I can recover ☺. I'm so pleased many of you enjoyed catching up on the 'back story' of how we arrived on Planet Baby in my last post. Thankyou to those gorgeous Planetarians who opened up with your own stories in the comments on your journeys to motherhood. It's an honour to have you sharing these really personal insights here. 

As I'm still trying to *rest* my recovering hand (easier said than done with the 3 pixies on school holidays), I thought I'd whip up this quick post by answering another of your burning questions from our survey - 'Why did you go to Tasmania?'. Before I start, just in case some of you are unfamiliar with my family background, I should explain that both Mr PB and I grew up in Hobart, Tasmania's capital. We spent 11 years in Sydney as I mentioned here. We always planned to return to Hobart to raise the pixies and also as our parents and two of our sisters live here as well as old friends.

So, now to answer your question!

Card of Tasmania by the talented Lisa Kingston of Little and Big K 

This post picks up from Sam's birth and tells the tale of how we ended up living in Hobart only 6 weeks later!

And this post continues the story of how we actually managed to pack up our apartment and move with 6 week old Sam, 19 month old India and 3½ year old Joshua back to Hobart. My stars! They were very hard days. Little did I know what was to come next - a story for another day.

So tell me, have any of you made any similarly difficult and crazy moves? Tell me I'm not alone!

Sunday splendour: 10 June 2012

Bonsoir, mes amies! Yes, once again it's 'Sunday splendour'-on-a-Monday'. Blame the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend for that - it's thrown me off kilter! We had the pleasure of hosting gorgeous Mel and her delightful family for afternoon tea today. It was a riotous affair with the 7 children aged 8 and under scooting around PB HQ but a barrel of fun to boot. Anyway, now it's time to peek at some of the splendid moments of my past week. Let's go!

I *feasted upon* this scrummy little confection, chosen by Miss India, our resident pink-lover!

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I *discovered* this fabulous post about creating your own stunning wrapping paper at home. You just use your scanner and any ribbons, fabric, paper, Scrabble tiles, rhinestones or pretties you can get your hands on! It was inspired by this post by Cintia at My Poppet. I can't wait to try it out.

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I *enjoyed* reading this brilliant post about Hobart's culinary scene. It's such a thrill to see so many of my treasured places here written about so beautifully and captured so stunningly. If you're looking for a reason to venture down here, this is exactly what you need to read!

I *created* this little number for Sam from a papier mâché letter bought at Spotlight, some of the treasure trove of old stamps my Dad saved for years and my trusty gloss Mod Podge. It now beams down at Sammy from the boys' mantelpiece - he loves it!

Print by MaryWangerin on Etsy

 I *read* this post at Kind Over Matter by John Lennon. 

We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. 

If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully be open to our ability to love others or our potential to create.  

Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.

That's really resonated with me over the past week as I've been doing the 30 day self-care blueprint e-course I mentioned here.

I *watched* with amusement and delight as the pixies played 'shopkeepers' in the playroom. Mr PB set their shop up and then we watched the hysterical interactions between the 3 of them as they delved into their imaginary world. I forgot to photograph them at work so just took this photo of the shop before it reopens for business tomorrow ☺. 

They used Monopoly money and packed our shopping bags. They even let Mr PB buy his groceries on credit! It was just so funny to see their little brains nutting out problems and trying to entice customers into their shop with food tastings - just classic.

So, what takes your fancy here? Will you be whipping up some fancy wrapping paper like me? Or maybe indulging in some easy decoupage with papier mâché? I'd love to hear what appeals.

Market love: the (February 2012) market

Bonjour, mes amies! I'm delighted so many of you are chuffed with the return of Some Saturday soul food and Sunday Splendour. Do share with us if any of you make those paper flowers, won't you? I *pinky promise* I will, too! And now for a change of pace, here's a post I've been meaning to write for months - time to get cracking as the next one is on this Sunday ☺. Woops...My Market love posts seem to be popular with you Planetarians - this one was a ripper. With gorgeous Sarah in cahoots with me, I whiled away a pleasant couple of hours there, chatting to the crafty minxes who created such fabulous wares. Okay, here goes!

Penny Black Project

This was the most fascinating of all finds for me. I'd never heard of this innovative creative project which is named after the world's first postage stamp.

The coordinator describes it as 'an art project for people who want to be more creative but find themselves short on time. Consisting of 6 projects spaced 6 weeks apart, participants are encouraged to follow the project brief as closely (or not) as they want. Illustration, collage, crochet, embroidery, sculpture, photography - there is no limit on what the participants can submit'.

For each project, you are sent a stamp, denomination and feature colour. Exhibits from Round 2 of The Project were displayed and it was fascinating to see how people had interpreted the idea, especially the media they used.

Here's the sweet coordinator, Joanna, posing demurely for me in front of the exhibits.

You can see them close up here.

They also had some fabulous stamp wares for sale which gladdened my philatelist heart. A version of this stunner came home with me.

As did this sweet little letter writing set.

You can find their blog here.

Hideyo

Next up were the divine duo behind Hideyo Designs, Maya McDonell and Sam Beckman. They are the sweetest souls with the cleverest fingers. Look at the artistry they create with paper - they are magicians!

Here's a divine origami ball, made from the pages of 'Treasure Island'. I want them to make one for me made either from a favourite map, old dictionary or book of mine - I can't decide! 

This swirly one had me transfixed.

Look at this brilliant one from their website made from an old Richard Scarry book!

Then Sam got me to try out a 'firecracker'.

Here are some photos I took with my left hand whilst turning it inside out with my right. First up was this.

Then this.

And then this.

It was astounding to see how it transformed into completely different states. I was mesmerised.

And here's one of the flutterers now residing in my birdcage.

Their website is here - treat yourself by having a peek!

Jemma Clements

Jemma is an extraordinarily talented glass-blower who creates all sorts of beauty.  Do you fancy this delicate perfume bottle? And how on earth does she create such patterns?

Or do you prefer this bold necklace?

Or how about this one (you know it has to be my pick with those luscious greens ☺)?

You can find Jemma's Facebook page here.

PhatFlats

Hobart graphic designer and talented illustrator Cathy McAuliffe from PhatFlats is so bubbly and vivacious that it's a pleasure to chat to her. She creates fabulous greeting cards, gift wrap, art prints and gift tags, a number of which now grace Planet Baby's walls. 

Joshie adores this crazy dino print.

And Sam and Miss India are smitten with their blue and pink versions of this card.

Meanwhile, Mr PB and I often shoot admiring looks at this print in our living room!

I suspect some of you design mavens are hankering for this card of an Eames rocker chair!

Do pop over to Cathy's shop here for a look-see! You can also find her goodies over at the fab online shop, Hard to find.

Dick and Dora

This fabulous, design-savvy brand was established by an old Uni colleague of mine. It's now run by the delightful Mel French. Quirky and innovative are words I'd use to describe her goodies. Let your eyes wander.

Now here's a celadon birdy just for you, Bron! Isn't she a ripper?

These wooden bunnies were quite captivating. One may well hop home to Planet Baby some time soon. 

And what do you think of this "What's the time, Mr Wolf?" pocket-watch - cute, wouldn't you say?

Here's a heart with a bird with a heart. Littlies would love it.

And for those bold red-lovers (ie not me!), here's a necklace just for you.

Here's the website if anything takes your fancy.

NosMos 

Hiedi Limebeer and Rodney Alexander create stunning stationery, quality clothing, jewellery and original artworks which are both striking and eye-catching. 

Here's the cushion which had me smitten (and thinking of you, Felicity!).

Here's the card version.

A goodly number of these intricate wooden buttons wended their way home to Planet Baby.

I was so fascinated by these fabulous acrylic brooches - look at their fine details! This bee is stunning.

Here's a wise old owl.

And a hovering hummingbird.

You can find their stunning wares here.

Magoolie Designs  

I adore Julie Hoddy's delicate porcelain wares. She has the loveliest eye for design and colour. Her work makes my heart sing. See what you think!

Hmm, what a surprise that I loved this butterfly.

And this one.

I have a similar brooch at home. It is divine to touch, so delicate and smooth.

And this blue spoon now resides with me. Quelle surprise!

You can find Julie's blog here.

So, that's a wrap. A long post but brimful of brilliant Tasmanian talent. Dive in and share which are your favourites! Now to start thinking about Sunday's outing...